


Not-Paul

by TheCaitalloWrites



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, I really don't know how to tag this sorry!, M/M, maybe kinda funny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-29 01:18:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7664719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCaitalloWrites/pseuds/TheCaitalloWrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A guy named Paul auditions for the Apples, and hearing the name brings up some odd baggage for Adam.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not-Paul

The young man on the stage was very talented and even more importantly he was clearly giving it his all, putting every ounce of his energy into his performance. He wanted this, and he was good. And he seemed like a perfect fit for their group. Adam was very impressed.  
  
And clearly, Kurt was as well, if the look he shot Adam was any indication. Who was this guy? Whoever he was, Adam was happy he had such an interest in joining the Apples.  
  
“Thank you,” the young man said, clearly nervous but remarkably confident.  
  
“Our pleasure,” Adam replied easily, “So, what’s your name? I don’t believe we’ve ever met before.”  
  
“Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself properly. The name’s Miller. Paul Miller,” the man said with a smile.  
  
“Oh.” It was just a silly name. Adam hated that it bothered him, but that name always had.  
  
Kurt gave him a look and said to Miller-Paul-Miller, “Well, Paul, your performance was amazing!” Looking to the rest of the Apples, he said, “Wasn’t he amazing, you guys?” To which they all seemed to unanimously and uproariously agree.  
  
“Yes,” Adam said, “That was great. Really great. We’ll be in touch.”  
  
Now it was everyone else’s turn to look at him strangely. He was being ridiculous, and he knew it. So, he laughed it off. “Who am I kidding? You’re in. Of course, you’re in. Welcome to the Apples… Paul.”

  


Not long after everyone else had left, Kurt pulled Adam aside. “Okay, what’s wrong with you?”  
  
“What?” Adam responded, genuinely taken aback by the question.  
  
“In there,” Kurt replied, “You were acting weird. What is going on?”  
  
“I don’t know what you mean, Kurt,” Adam said, trying to feign ignorance.  
  
“Adam Crawford, you have never lied to me before, and you better not start now, if for no other reason than you are _really_ bad at it,” Kurt shot back.  
  
“Okay, okay, you’re right,” Adam responded contritely, “I’m sorry.” He paused. “It’s silly anyway.”  
  
“Do you know that guy or something?” Kurt asked.  
  
“No,” Adam answered, “It’s— Kurt, have you ever had a name sort of, I dunno, poisoned for you?”  
  
“Well, I’m assuming if I ever met another Blaine I’d have a hard time not hating him,” Kurt responded. After a brief pause, he asked, “Oh my God, is that what this is? Did you date a ‘Paul’ once? And now you hate all Pauls?”  
  
“No, no, no,” Adam explained, “It’s nothing like that, and I don’t hate anyone… But I would probably never date anyone named Paul, no. I mean I certainly wouldn’t now obviously, but you catch my meaning… No, it’s...far sillier than that. Really, I shouldn’t even be bothered. I don’t know why I am.”  
  
“Okay, well, obviously you are, so spill it,” Kurt said.  
  
“Okay, alright,” Adam continued, “You know how I mentioned before that I have a brother?”  
  
“Yeah,” Kurt affirmed, nodding.  
  
“Well, I actually have a twin brother,” Adam clarified, “And his name is Paul. And all throughout school and in our neighborhood Paul was always more popular and good at things like sports and the like, and everyone always told us apart as Paul and Not-Paul.”  
  
“And you were ‘Not-Paul’?” Kurt responded, “Ouch.”  
  
“Yeah, ‘Not-Paul, the weird, gay theater kid,” Adam said. Actually, telling Kurt made him see more than ever just how ridiculous the whole thing was. He started to laugh.  
  
“What?” Kurt asked, smiling but seeming confused by the sudden laughter.  
  
“Just… Wow, it’s even sillier hearing myself say it out loud like that,” Adam said, still laughing a bit, “‘Not-Paul’, the weird, gay theater kid. That’s who I am.”  
  
“No, it isn’t,” Kurt said, “You are Adam Crawford, and I don’t care how cool Paul Crawford is or if he’s hot like you, you’re still my favorite, and I love you.” After a quick pause, Kurt smirked. “As far as I’m concerned, he’s Not-Adam.”  
  
“‘Not-Adam’! I love that! Can we just be both? I’m ‘Not-Paul’ and he’s ‘Not-Adam’. We could even make shirts!” Adam responded enthusiastically.  
  
“Yes! Absolutely!” Kurt agreed. Then, he asked, “So, when do I get to meet Not-Adam, Not-Paul?”  
  
“I’m almost afraid to answer that,” Adam answered, only half kidding, “You aren’t, uh, planning anything weird or mischievous, are you?”  
  
“What? Moi? Mischievous? No!” Kurt responded, a bit playfully, “I just wanna see him and get his shirt size, so we can make the shirts. I am so serious about the shirts.”  
  
Adam laughed again, and suddenly he had no idea what he had been so troubled about. “Of course you are!” Adam considered Kurt’s previous question. “I’ll have to see about arranging a Skype meeting sometime. At least until we can manage a real face-to-face meeting in person.”  
  
“Sounds like a plan,” Kurt said, “Not-Paul.”  
  
“Is that going to be a permanent name for me?” Adam asked, “ _Again_?”  
  
“Possibly,” Kurt said. Then he added, more seriously, “But only if you’re okay with it. Seriously.”  
  
Adam thought about it for a moment. That nickname had been a frequent source of aggravation in his youth, to such an extent that he still felt oddly insecure when hearing the very name “Paul” at times. And yet, something about telling Kurt now and hearing Kurt jokingly call him that… it freed him from all of that nonsense. When he heard Kurt say it and laugh playfully, suddenly it was like hearing it for the first time in an all new way and he actually kind of liked it. Especially considering how Kurt gave Paul his own “Not” nickname to complement Adam’s.  
  
Maybe it was time to embrace who he was completely. “Yeah,” he told Kurt, “it’s okay.”  
  
“You sure?” Kurt checked.  
  
“Totally,” Adam said, “I am Not-Paul, and I guess I might as well be proud of it.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is based on an ancient fandom joke about Adam being "Not Paul" which I *think* was a thing because his character was originally supposed to be named Paul or something, but I don't know I randomly remembered that silliness and got the idea for this silliness. I'm sorry this is so dumb, and it may only be amusing to me, but I'm hoping not. XD


End file.
